Tradition?
by RanMouri82
Summary: Some traditions can spark new feelings or clarify old ones. Heiji and Kazuha at Christmastime.


Title: Tradition?  
Author: RanMouri82  
Word Count: 711  
Rating: G  
Disclaimer: No own no sue.  
Pairings: Heiji and Kazuha  
Notes: Some traditions can spark new feelings . . . or just clarify old ones. For Jeva, prompt of "T-that's not supposed to go there!"

_Tradition?_

Christmas in the Hattori household, due to its matriarch, never came with much fuss. This year, however, Hattori Shizuka shocked everyone by suggesting they decorate, saying it would be a good way to bring cheer to the dreary season . . . which was why Heiji grumbled as he sat cross-legged beneath a bare Christmas tree.

"Why the hell did Mom buy lights?" Heiji groused, tugging at a wad of knotted cords; his frustration reaching a fever pitch, he jumped up and threw the Gordian knot to the floor.

"Heiji, don't complain!" sighed Kazuha, who knelt by a pile of ornaments. Flashing Heiji a smile, she added, "I'm glad your mom's getting into the spirit of things!"

Wrinkling his nose at the knot, then glancing at Kazuha, he muttered, "You wanna change places?"

Kazuha sighed and rolled her eyes. But as she scooted toward the tangle and Heiji crouched by the ornaments, Kazuha spotted a tiny object in a plastic carton by the base of the stairs. "Heiji, what's that?"

"Huh?" Leaning in Kazuha's direction, Heiji soon spied the mystery object. "Oh . . . it's a plant." With a shrug, he muttered, "Guess it's mistletoe."

Kazuha flushed. Fanning herself in a vain effort to cool down, she squeaked, "Y-you mean, the one where people k-kiss?"

"Yeah," Heiji replied, blasé in the face of Kazuha's hyperventilation. "Well," he added, scratching his head, "since we can't put up the ornaments until we rig up those damn lights, I'll do the mistletoe."

Kazuha purpled. "Y-you?"

"Got nothing better to do." As Heiji ambled to the oddly placed carton, Kazuha's embarrassment won over the urge to say that he had something better to do a minute ago.  
She took deep breaths, reassuring herself that she was nowhere near the doorway . . . and to her dismay, she noticed that neither was Heiji.

"Heiji, what are you doing?" she asked, wonderment taking over at the sight of him tacking a sprig of mistletoe over a window. "T-that's not supposed to go there!"

But Heiji shrugged. "Why not? It's just for the look, right?"

"It's supposed to go over the door!" Kazuha protested, a sense of urgency gripping her chest. "If we start messing with ancient traditions, we might—"

"Cause bad luck?" Heiji groaned. "Fine. Where is it supposed to go?"

Marching her stocking feet into the foyer, Kazuha huffed and thrust a finger above the threshold. "Since you obviously don't know, it's here!"

"Whatever," Heiji muttered, strolling into the foyer and rising on tiptoe to attach the leafy sprig, sticky white berries and all, to the lintel. "I heard this stuff's poisonous, though I doubt some idiot would—what?"

"Um, H-Heiji?" Kazuha stammered, looking askance as she figeted with her sweater sleeve. "We're, um . . . ."

Lowering himself, it took Heiji close to a minute to realize their situation. Heiji thought it suddenly felt a little warm; he needed to go turn the thermostat down. In fact, now would be a good time. "Well, it's not like we really go by those traditions anyway, so—"

"R-right!" Kazuha chirped, giggling a bit strangely for Heiji's taste. That was not like her, to get so flustered. Actually, as Kazuha dug a toe into the wood panelled floor, she blushed once more and almost looked . . . pretty.

"You know, I heard that it doesn't have to be a serious kiss, but family members can kiss on the cheek . . ." she rambled on, causing Heiji to watch her, dumbfounded. Slowly, he remembered that there was one thing he was glad to have this Christmas: the special gift of knowing that someone was alright and safe from any involvement with the syndicate he and Kudou had finally put behind bars.

If it had not been for the Christmas decorations he loathed, he might have forgotten.

"Hey, idiot," Heiji said, lowering his voice as he smiled and moved closer to Kazuha, stunning her into silence. "I think I get the lesson."

Then, before Kazuha's startled gaze, he cupped her chin in his hands, leaned forward, and gently kissed her lips. Both their breaths caught, but neither of them moved.

After a moment, they pulled away and stared at each other without so much as a whisper, but from a short distance Shizuka crossed her graceful arms, satisfied. Yes, Heiji had finally gotten the lesson.

---

_Voila!_ Some post-Christmas Heiji/Kazuha! My apologies for the perhaps dated mistletoe device; I may revise this in the future, as I deleted scores of words that I had wanted to keep. Blast that LiveJournal comment box! Anyway, thanks for reading, and please review!


End file.
